Driving from the age of 14 remains the dream of many young people.
To access this privilege, two things remain necessary.
The AM license (“Apprentice Motorcyclist”), formerly Road Safety Certificate (BSR).
An eight-hour training course that takes place in a driving school.
Second step, the vehicle.
There is still the scooter, but in recent years, it seems to have gone out of fashion, considered dangerous.
Young people are now turning more and more to the car without a license (VSP).
A once cheesy cart turned trendy
However, this quadricycle has long been sidelined.
Considered "old-fashioned", too noisy, it remained mainly used by seniors or people who did not have, or no longer had, the B license. But in recent years, seeing the "hype" among young people confirmed, car manufacturers there is no shortage of innovations to attract this new clientele.
Latest example, Ligier.
The brand should present this week at the Paris Motor Show its latest model: the Mily, the first car without an electric license from the French brand.
Faïza Boufroura, data and analytics director of AAA Data, a French automotive data company, observes that the trend of cars without a license began in 2019. “A tremor” on the registration side of these vehicles.
“But it is really in 2021 that we are seeing a spectacular peak with a 26.8% increase [in registrations]”, she analyzes.
This trend should continue in 2022, according to the expert.
How to explain this attraction for these yogurt pots?
Young people !
In 2018, the law raises the legal age to pass the AM license from 16 to 14 years old.
Second factor, cyclical this time: the Covid-19 crisis.
In 2020, many parents with high financial means have chosen to invest in a car without a license.
A way to divert their children from public transport and the risk of contamination.
Finally, it is the security argument that prevails in scooter-cart arbitration.
“It was my mother who chose, she is afraid of the scooter.
She preferred to take me a car without a license,” says Yakov in this episode of “Minute Papillon”, a 16-year-old Parisian high school student who has been driving an Aixam cart for two years.
“
A dusted offer
”
"There is a constant increase in young people's interest in cars without a licence," confirms Faïza Boufroura of AAA Data.
This interest, manufacturers have understood.
“To reach new customers, manufacturers of cars without a license have largely dusted off their models.
They relied on design, comfort, equipment and electrification,” she continues.
The model for this adaptation is Citroën.
In 2020, the brand launched its first model of car without a licence: the Ami.
This electric vehicle has met with success: more than 15,000 orders in France since its launch.
"It's true that we wanted to address young people aged 14 to 18," says Alain Le Gouguec, Citroën Ami product manager, in this podcast.
To do this, the brand has bet on a strategy: to offer a car with a simple and customizable design, at a competitive price.
Including the ecological bonus of 900 euros, the Friend is sold for 6,890 euros.
However, due to its speed limit of 45 km/h, and the impossibility of driving on ring roads or highways, the car without a license remains a transition vehicle for young people.
Many people resell their quadricycle after a few years of use, or prefer renting to buying.
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